Effect of Zn content on the physicochemical characteristics and photoactivity of ZnO supported activated carbon

Abstract

In the present work, synthesis of ZnO dispersed onto activated carbon (ZnO/AC) is reported. Synthesis was conducted by using impregnation method by zinc acetate as precursor at varied Zn content. A systematic characterization of ZnO/C materials was performed using XRD, SEM, gas sorption analyzer and diffuse reflectance UV-Visible spectrophotometer. Photoactivity of the materials was studied in phenol removal via photooxidation mechanism. From the study it is confirmed that ZnO dispersion give acceleration of phenol removal refer to surface area contribution. It is no linear correlation of each physical character to the photocatalytic activity.